A Little Help Here
by MsLane
Summary: "this is totally awkward considering before this, the only interactions we've ever had have been casual nods to each other in the hallway, but there's a huge fucking spider in my bath tub, and you seem like the friendly neighbor type, please help me" au
1. Chapter 1

Sameen rolls out of bed with a scowl on her face, and determination in her step at the sound of the incessant knocking at her front door, ready to throttle her coworker John for waking her up so goddamn early on her day off.

The outburst that she was gearing up to unleash as she yanks open the door is halted.

As soon as the door starts to open, the woman on the other side starts talking rapidly, eyes wide and gesticulating wildly with both hands, "This is _totally_ awkward since before this, the only interactions we've ever had have been casual nods to each other in the hallway, but there's a _huge fucking spider_ in my bathtub and you seem like the friendly neighbor type and I really, need some help. Please, _please_ , help me."

Sameen's eyes, for the first time, travels away from the woman's concerned and troubled face and sees what she's wearing. Her eyebrows raise on their own accord.

Samantha, she believes is her neighbor's name if memory serves correctly, is standing in front of her in a big fluffy bathrobe, clutching onto a yellow bath pouf in one hand, the other now at her side clenching and unclenching in a fist.

Sameen wouldn't normally be this calm this early in the morning, without having any coffee or breakfast in her system; Nor would the person who woke her be allowed to still be standing up right, but there's a first time for everything apparently.

"I'm sorry. Could you repeat that? I thought I heard you say there's a spider-"

Samantha nods quickly, her eyes widening even further, interjecting, " _Yes_ , in my _bathtub_!"

Sameen stares right at her, figuring there's no way in hell this woman is making this up. She nods her head once with finality, and lifts her finger in a 'one moment' gesture, before turning her back and walking to her bedroom.

Samantha watches as her neighbor leaves her front door open, allowing her to see as she makes her way to another room, and Samantha only hopes that she's gone to get something to help capture and or kill the gargantuan tarantula in her home.

It doesn't take long for Sameen to walk out of her bedroom. She's still in her sleep shorts and tank top, but is now also wearing heavy duty, no-nonsense, combat boots and carrying a well loved wooden baseball bat over her shoulder.

She walks back towards Samantha, and once she stops in front of the other woman, she nods in the general direction of her neighbor's place, "Lead the way."

Samantha can't explain the rush of butterflies that suddenly hit, but she's not opposed to the feeling at all. She didn't realize her little firecracker neighbor was such a totally awesome badass.

Sameen follows Samantha down the hall and to her house; in through the front door that she's left wide open in her haste to ask Sameen for help.

"It was just crawling around the bottom of the tub and I just ran out and slammed the door shut behind me." Samantha explains as they approach the bathroom door.

Nodding her head, Sameen tilts her head side to side, rolling her shoulders before taking a breath. She grips the bat tightly in one hand and uses the other one to open the door.

She sees Samantha out of the corner of her eyes watching her, but Sameen's main focus is locating the spider.

"So, just so I know…how large is this thing?"

Samantha is watching Sameen closely, safely from her place outside of the bathroom, trying not to blink at all as she answers, "Oh pretty big. You can't miss it at all. It's like _really_ big."

Sameen's eyes methodically scan the bathroom, carefully walking deeper into it, raising the bat as she gets closer to the tub.

And there, right in the middle of the bathtub, is a big hairy spider.

The thing is just staring up at her with all of its eyes and all Sameen can do is stare back with a look of complete disgust on her face.

"This fucker…is _huge_." She says, eyes not once leaving the spider.

Samantha nods, even though she knows Sameen can't see her, "I _told_ you!" she whispers loudly.

"Yeah, I wasn't saying I didn't believe you. Just…it's really fucking huge. It's gonna put a goddamn dent in my bat."

She doesn't understand how she's still having a staring contest with this spider. Nor can she understand how she's having a pseudo whispered conversation with her neighbor while engaging in this staring contest with the eight legged creature.

"Okay. Do you have like a pot or something with a lid and preferably with a long handle that I can use?"

Sameen hears Samantha run to her kitchen and the sound of cupboards opening and closing, pots and pans banging together and then the sound of her coming back, but stopping outside of the bathroom, "I think this will do."

And just as Sameen is thinking of the quickest way to turn away from the spider and grab the pot from the woman so she doesn't lose sight of the spider for longer than a second, Samantha is taking a breath and stepping into the bathroom and standing right behind Sameen, tugging at her empty hand and sliding the handle of the saucepan into it.

Sameen is grateful she didn't have to turn her back on the spider; she's even more grateful that Samantha intuitively knew to walk to her instead of making her come get the pan.

"Thanks." She says as she tightens her grip on the saucepan, before lowering the baseball bat and tilting her head to the side, "You can go ahead and grab the bat and head back outside. I'm gonna try and catch this fucker. You're not particularly attached to this saucepan, are you?"

Samantha shakes her head as she slips the bat out of Sameen's hand, "Not anymore, no."

Chuckling under her breath, Sameen nods to herself before lifting the lid off of the saucepan and stepping closer to the spider.

She narrows her eyes as she approaches the spider; the spider that is still just sitting in the tub like it owns the place, and she can't help but hate it for that pompous air that surrounds it.

She stands still for a couple of beats, arms raised slightly, ready to come flying down on top of the spider in a split second.

And that split second arrives when Sameen sees one of its many legs twitch as if gearing up to scuttle up the side or jump. She wasn't about to find out which.

She lunges into action, saucepan cutting through the air and landing right on top of the spider, trapping it underneath the dome.

She slowly releases her breath, her shoulders still tense as she continues holding onto the saucepan handle with a death grip, heart beating just a little bit faster than normal.

It takes only another second for her to carefully slide the saucepan up the side of the tub and carefully maneuvering the cover to close up the opening as it breaches the side of the tub.

Once she's completely got the saucepan covered, with the spider entrapped inside, she stands up straight, with her arms outstretched in front of her.

For the first time since catching sight of the spider, Sameen takes her eyes off of where she knows it to be and sees Samantha standing by the door with the bat lifted up to her face, hiding behind it with her eyes barely open, "Oh my God you caught it."

Smirking, Sameen raises an eyebrow as she locks eyes with Samantha, "Why the tone of surprise?"

Lowering the bat now that the danger is taken care of, Samantha shakes her head, "I just-that was just so intense! I can't believe it's over. You were fantastic"

Sameen chuckles as she shrugs, "Yeah…that was crazy. Do you have duct tape?"

Nodding her head, Samantha turns away and quickly goes to get some. Sameen doesn't think she'd appreciate it if someone walked around with a spider filled saucepan in _her_ house, so she stays put and waits for the other woman to return.

"Here you go. Where are you going to put it after you're done taping it up?"

Putting the pan down on the floor, and making sure she keeps one hand on top of the lid to make sure it stays closed, she reaches out for the tape.

Samantha has taken the liberty of cutting a strip off for her, and once again Sameen is grateful for this crazy amount of vibing they've got going on; absolutely in sync with each other.

She places the strip down and then gets handed another one; this is repeated a few times until they both are satisfied with the durability of this trap they've constructed.

"Well. I'm gonna put it out in the hall. Maybe put a makeshift sign next to it, to let whoever picks it up know what's on the inside of this metallic spider coffin."

Once Sameen stands back up right, both women just end up staring down at the saucepan, as if daring it to move.

It doesn't.

"Or maybe I'm just gonna take it down a floor and nudge it down the hall towards Rousseau's place."

Samantha bites her lip as she smiles at that. Both of them have had run ins with that woman and neither of them apparently has a liking towards her.

Sameen grins as she looks back at the woman in front of her and that grin widens as she takes in her slightly disheveled hair, "I'm gonna get out of here now; your bathroom has been swept and there aren't any more threats…you can now get back to your obviously interrupted shower."

Samantha's cheeks blush once she looks down and realizes she's been in a bathrobe this entire time, "Well, that isn't embarrassing at all."

"Nah, don't be embarrassed. There's nothing to be embarrassed about. It's a cute bathrobe." Sameen says, a light flirtatious tone to her voice as she points to the embroidered rubber duck that's on the chest area of Samantha's robe.

She doesn't wait for her to say anything, the blush on her face being enough for her. Sameen gives her a little nod, before picking up the saucepan, "I'll see myself out. "

Just as she's stepping out of the front door, Samantha calls out, "Thank you so much Sameen. I _really_ appreciate it."

Sameen smiles to herself as she closes the front door for her neighbor, rolling her eyes at her own antics.

She then looks down at the saucepan she's holding and once again rolls her shoulders back before taking to the stairs, going down one floor and leaving the pan in front of Rousseau's place.

With a spring in her step, Sameen makes her way up to her place and lets herself into her house.

Once the door is closed, she leans her back against it and asks aloud, "What the hell just happened?"

Pushing off of the door, she shuffles her way back to her room and flops on top of the blankets and sheets, face first into her pillows, not even bothering to take off her boots.

'The things I do.' She thinks to herself as she drifts off to catch a little more sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

It's the knocking that once again wakes Sameen up, but this time she doesn't even bother rolling her eyes or putting on a scowl.

It _is_ a surprise when she opens the door to find Samantha, now fully dressed with her hair still wet from her shower, smiling at her slightly, holding out a cup of coffee for her.

"I just- wanted to properly thank you for uh coming to help me out. So this coffee is part one of the 'thank you' package. Part two…Well, I'm uh about to make breakfast, and I'd like to invite you over to join me."

Sameen takes the proffered cup and takes a long sip, eyes shutting on their own accord as she savors the taste of the drink. Reopening her eyes, she hums as she says, "I'd really like to take you up on that invite. Also, this tastes fantastic." She adds on, gesturing to the cup in her hand.

Samantha smiles at her brighter, eyes lighting up, "Yeah? Okay great! That's great. So, I mean, follow me."

Sameen smirks over the rim of the coffee cup, before lifting it, silently saying 'after you'.

She once again follows Samantha to her apartment, but this time the front door isn't left open.

"I didn't have to fly down the hall this time," Samantha comments, rolling her eyes at her earlier antics, having apparently been thinking the same thing she just was.

Sameen grins to herself, "That wasn't the most interesting part of the whole ordeal though."

The woman blushes, knowing that Sameen means her bathrobe.

"I'm not sure what you'd like, so I hope pancakes is an okay option? I mean, if not, I could make something-"

Sameen interrupts, putting her coffee cup down on the island in front of her as they step into the kitchen, "No, that's fine. Pancakes are perfect actually. The breakfast of champions."

Samantha chuckles as she turns away from Sameen and heads towards the fridge to grab the eggs and milk.

Sameen takes a seat at the island, making sure she has the perfect view of everything, not wanting to miss a second of her 'thank you' breakfast as its being made.

"So, what did the mighty spider slayer get up to after dealing with Ted?"

Samantha glances over at Sameen as she passes her, a small smile on her face as she takes in the sleep wear Sameen is still wearing. Samantha has a fairly good idea that Sameen went back to bed.

"Ted? You mean that massive spider? You named it _Ted_?" Sameen asks incredulously, "That thing needs a more larger than life name if you're going to bother naming it at all."

Samantha laughs as she cracks open the eggs and pours in the milk, sieving in the flour and whisking it all together, "I would have thought you'd be making fun of me for naming, instead of just making fun of my _choice_ of name."

Sameen shakes her head as Samantha adds some vanilla extract and cinnamon to the mix, before pulling out a frying pan.

"Nah. Who wouldn't name _that_ beast?"

Samantha smiles to herself, ladling some batter into the pan, "What would you name it?"

Smirking as she finishes off her first cup of coffee, Sameen quickly schools her face as she waits for Sameen to flip over the pancakes, before very seriously saying, "Bitsy."

She watches as Samantha's head is thrown back as she laughs out loud, having not expected that at all.

Once she catches her breath, Samantha nods, "Yes, that's quite a bit more domineering. I like it."

She flips the first couple of pancakes onto a plate before ladling some more batter into the pan, a large smile lighting up her face.

Sameen's own face is split in a grin, having been able to make Samantha smile, "And to answer your initial question…I had a spider slaying celebration in the form of getting a bit more sleep."

"Yeah, taking care of business can zap the energy right out of a person." Samantha teases a little, glancing back at Sameen as she does so.

Nodding, Sameen catches Samantha's eyes as she winks, "You know it."

Sliding the second couple of pancakes onto the plate, she turns around and places them in front of Sameen, "Bon appétit Spider Slayer. Do you want some more coffee?"

Sameen lifts a hand and stands up as she shakes her head, "I'll get that, you just finish getting your own stack done."

Samantha smiles at her easily and brightly, as she points towards the coffee pot, "There's sugar and cream right beside that."

Sameen nods and takes her mug over with her before grabbing a second one from the dish rack, "How do you take your coffee?"

"One cream, two sugars. Thanks." Comes the reply from Samantha who can't help but bite the inside of her cheek to stop from smiling so widely, as she takes in the image of Sameen standing in her pajama shorts and combat boots, pouring out coffee for the both of them.

Sameen takes both of their mugs over to the island, before retracing her steps and picking up a couple of forks and knives before she takes her seat as she watches Samantha quickly follow, carrying her own plate of pancakes along with the maple syrup.

"I couldn't help but notice that Bitsy wasn't anywhere on this floor when I came out to get you. Did you really take it downstairs?"

Smiling around her first bite of breakfast, Sameen nods her head, "Yup, sure did." Her eyes nearly roll to the back of her head, the burst of flavor causing a shiver of excitement to flow through her body.

"I should have figured you were serious about that." Samantha says with a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. She ducks her head down as she starts on her own breakfast.

Sameen doesn't expect the silence that follows.

She's used to silence, and she usually craves it when she's in the middle of a meal, but she doesn't usually find people who allow her this silence. They usually almost always try and fill the silence, when she'd rather just enjoy the meal.

Samantha lets the conversation naturally stop at this point, and decides to enjoy the company, without trying to force more for the moment.

She's only eaten two of her pancakes by the time Sameen has finished her stack and is now sipping at her second coffee. Samantha silently slides her remaining pancakes over towards Sameen, and just offers her a smile at the questioning gaze she receives.

"Giving up your portion of food, huh? I must have really impressed you this morning." Sameen says after a beat, eyes locking with Samantha's.

The playful gleam in her neighbor's eyes is pronounced as she wraps her hands around her mug and lifts it up to her lips, raising an eyebrow as she husks out, "Oh, you have _no_ idea."

The tops of Sameen's ears heat up with a blush; a blush that threatens to spread to her face, but it isn't an unpleasant feeling, so she doesn't really fight it.

"I'm Samantha by the way. I think we're way past formal, proper, introductions honestly, but I think I should at least tell you my name."

Sameen smirks as she raises an eyebrow, "Yeah, and…you already know my name."

"Well, I mean, I make it a point to know who my neighbors are. If only for cases of emergency like this morning." Samantha says, biting her lip after she says this, only to laugh lightly and add on, "Plus your mailbox is right next to mine, and I'm just rather curious. You've got really nice handwriting."

Sameen chuckles, "And you've got decidedly loopy handwriting; or I suppose it's what you'd call elegant."

"Why Sameen, that's so sweet of you to say." Samantha says with a flutter of her eyelashes, and a smile so honest it makes Sameen look away and into her coffee with a gruff shrug.

"So, you already knew my name then too." Samantha continues, the smile still present, enjoying her current company immensely.

Nodding, Sameen lifts a shoulder and says, "Yeah, but I don't exactly know much else…and I was actually not too sure if that was your name…I mean like you said in your opening monologue this morning. We haven't ever really interacted before this." Mid way, her eyes once again find their way to Samantha's.

Agreeing with her, Samantha nods solemnly as she says seriously, "I know. But I truly believe that once two people have been through what we have…they forge this kind of unbreakable bond. One that can withstand the test of space and even time."

"It _was_ one hell of an ordeal." Sameen says teasingly, eyebrow quirked slightly, curious as to where Samantha will go with this.

"Right? I'm glad you agree with me. As I see it, we have two options." Samantha says, trying to school her face into remaining neutral, but finding it hard not to smile.

Sameen bites her lip, to control her enthusiasm, deciding to take a second to take a drink of her coffee before taking the bait and asking, "And those options are?"

Samantha leans forward, and lowers her voice as if she's telling a secret, "We can pretend this morning's life altering events didn't happen and we go back to our regular lives without a second thought. Or…"

Sameen watches as Samantha takes in a breath, holding it in, eyes wide as she pauses for dramatic effect. Sameen shakes her head internally at the adorable nerd sitting in front of her, but she decides she actually kind of really likes this woman, and so she widens her own eyes slightly as she too leans in to listen to the second option, "Or?"

A beautiful smile blossoms on Samantha's face the second Sameen plays along by leaning in.

" _Or_ , we can see where this takes us. It's not every day that you meet someone who's willing to take care of big, bad, scary spiders for you and live to tell the tale."

Sameen sits straight as she laughs under her breath, pushing the locks of hair that have fallen from her pony tail behind her ears, "You mean because of how small I am, in comparison, right? It's fine, you can say it. You didn't think I'd handle it as well as I did."

Samantha bites her lip, trying to suppress a smile but failing as her eyes trace over Sameen's face, "You're tiny, _you_ can't even deny that…but I never doubted your bravery. Whether I thought you'd succeed as well as you did or not though…Well, I'm not going to go there."

Sameen laughs, but rolls her eyes, "Whatever, you don't have to say it outright. I can come to my own conclusions."

Samantha stands then and picks up the dishes and starts taking them over to the sink, and it's a testament to just how comfortable Sameen is that she stands and decides she's going to help.

"Oh! No, that's alright, you really don't have to, _especially_ after everything you did for me this morning." Samantha says when she feels Sameen's presence beside her at the sink, having brought over the remaining dirty dishes.

Smirking beautifully at the other woman, Sameen easily drawls, "Don't expect this morning's events to be a regular occurrence. I'm not usually so joyful in the early a.m. ; at least, not before coffee."

Samantha's eyes twinkle as she places the rest of the dishes into the hot water in the sink, "I'll have to remember that for later. Never wake the tiny firecracker without having a peace offering."

An unexpected snort comes out of Sameen at that, "Tiny firecracker."

Samantha grins as she just nods her head, "Mhmm. Oh, by the way, you accidentally left your baseball bat here earlier."

Humming, Sameen walks out of the kitchen and towards the bathroom where she last remembers having the bat. She finds it leaning up against the wall and she smiles fondly as she picks it up and walks back to the kitchen.

She stands at the doorway just watching Samantha wash the dishes they just used, and she finds herself throwing caution to the wind, and taking a plunge she hasn't taken in a long time.

She takes a step into the kitchen and her eyes never leave the back of Samantha's head as she asks, "How do you know I didn't leave it here on purpose…maybe to give me some incentive to come see you again?"

Her heart is steadily pounding in her chest, harder, as she waits for a reaction. She knows that this can go two ways and she really hopes she wasn't reading things wrong earlier.

The look on Samantha's face when she finally turns around to face Sameen makes her stomach drop.

"I _don't_ know that…but if that's the case, then the both of us have decided to go with the second option…no way are we going to go back to the way things were before this morning's incident." Samantha says, the smile on her face subtle and her eyes so open and welcoming.

"I think us teaming up? I think that's gonna be something spectacular." Sameen says, over the sound of her heart pounding out a relieved beat in her chest, a grin on her face as she does.

A loud, and shrill scream pierces through the whole apartment just then and the two of them grin at each other evilly.

"Rousseau." They both say at the same time.

"I don't think she liked that surprise Sameen." Samantha says with an exaggerated pout on her face, eyes twinkling.

Sameen sighs over dramatically and says, "I guess next time _you'll_ have to pick out the present then."


End file.
